The present disclosure relates to packaging of electronic components, more particularly to the bonding of semiconductor chips to a flexible substrate.
Flexible hybrid electronics integrates packaged electronic components with high precision digital printing technologies on low cost flexible substrates and provides a cost-effective, large-area manufacturing technique while keeping the same complex functionality and processing capability as conventional integrated circuits. Various techniques have been developed for semiconductor chip integration on flexible substrates. In this process semiconductor chips are attached or bonded individually to conductive traces on the substrate. Bonding equipment consists of a metal thermode or hot bar supplying heat and pressure to bond a single semiconductor chip. However use of this technique does not allow for the attachment or bonding of multiple chips of arbitrary height in a dense configuration during the same attachment or bonding operation, i.e., the attachment or bonding does not take place in a substantially simultaneous manner. This restriction reduces the throughput for the semiconductor chip attachment or bonding step. Additionally, subsequent attachment or bonding of adjacent semiconductor chips can act to distort the thermally sensitive polymer substrate being used.
Therefore, it is considered desirable to develop a method, system and equipment to facilitate high density attachment of semiconductor chips having different heights substantially simultaneously.